North Leads Jackets Past Mississippi State, 4-3

Georgia Tech moves to 5-0 with win

ATLANTA - David North picked up the deciding win as the Georgia Tech (5-0) men's tennis team pulled out a tough 4-3 victory over visiting Mississippi State (1-2) Sunday afternoon at the Bill Moore Tennis Center.

The Yellow Jackets opened the day with seniors North and George Gvelesiani breezing to an 8-2 win in their doubles match over Artem Kusnetsov and Ryan Farlow of Mississippi State. In the No. 2 doubles spot, the freshman duo of Guillermo Gomez and Eliot Potvin gave Tech a 1-0 lead with a tough tie-breaker decision (9-8 [7-5]) over Tanner Stump and Pjotrs Necajevs.

The game went back and forth throughout singles play but the Jackets pulled out the tough victory. Freshman Ryan Smith earned the first point with a quick 6-2, 6-0 win over Kuznetsov. In the no. 6 spot Miguel Muguruza earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over Maximilien Genuini. North came through as he was able to pick up a tough 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 victory over 14th-ranked Philippe Frayssinoux, a junior from Plaisir, France, to lead the Jackets to the win.

"This is what a college match is all about," head coach Kenny Thorne said. "It was as close as it gets. Winning the doubles point was huge for us. Their team matched up very well, they aree very similar to us. They are very strong in certain spots, very talented in others, thus the 4-3 result. This was very important for our freshman, to fight through and come out with a win. This can only help us down the road. This gives us a good direction to move in.

"I was really proud of Ryan [Smith] coming out in singles, finishing his match fairly quickly" Thorne continued. "That was a catalyst for out singles play. It was fitting that David [North] clinched the match. He finished out the last match as the last on the court, and finished this match as the last one on the court with the score tied at 3-3. This was a good way for David to start out the season."

Up next for the Jackets is a visit from No. 31 Auburn Thursday, Feb. 14 at 2:00 p.m. Tech will then continue its season-opening homestand with a match against Furman on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 2:30 p.m.